Kamuzu Stadium may be brought down, says Malawi Sports Minister

The 35,000-seater Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre is likely to remain closed for quite sometime as Malawi government is considering several options on how the failing spectator stands can be fixed.

Youth and Sports Minister Enock Chihana, speaking in an interview with Nyasa Times after visiting the Flames during training at Civo Stadium on Wednesday, October 10, 2012 said he could not given an indication as to when the giant Kamuzu Stadium would be ready as government was weighing several options.

“We got a report on the status of the stadium from structural engineers last week and having received the report I have to draft a cabinet paper suggesting the way forward.

Chihana: We are considering several options

“At the moment, we are discussing a number of options. One of the options is to bring down the affected stands and rebuild and the other is to bring down the whole stadium and rebuild it,” said Chihana.

On the source of funding for the project, Chihana said government might either take up the responsibility or identify a donor/partner.

The Minister reported that President Joyce Banda identified a company in South Africa that is interested in entering a BOT (Build, Operate and Transfer) arrangement with government.

Government closed Kamuzu Stadium in August and since then, all major sporting activities have been taking place in Lilongwe.

As a result of closing the giant stadium in Blantyre, government started renovating the 25,000-seater Civo Stadium in Lilongwe, where the South Africa 2013 Africa Cup of Nations second leg qualifier involving Malawi’s Flames and Ghana’s Black Stars will take place on Saturday, October 13, 2012.